A disappointing 30th Year Anniversary for Jacky Cheung

Mr. Jacky Cheung, fondly called as the God of Songs (歌神) has confirmed that he has already parted ways with 20-year-long Manager Mrs. Chan Sok Fan.  Both ended their 20-year-long collaboration as the Dragon Lady and Mr. Cheung were not able to settle on each other's differences.  First is how the Mainland shows were poorly handled, Mrs. Chan was allegedly outsourcing organizers in Mainland China with a fixed rate, but they (not sure whom this "they" is pertaining to) try to bid a higher rate but then sacrifice the quality of the show, or were forced to sell more tickets to compensate the higher rate.  Second was the division of earnings which Mr. Cheung denied that he never asked for his and Mrs. Chan's percentage difference.  Third was that some of the band members were not well compensated thus it reflects on the quality of the show.  Lastly, Mr. Cheung wanted Universal to be included in the tour because the company cannot live on producing albums alone with the current state of market their Music Industry is having.  These were some of the alleged reasons they ended the upcoming 30th Anniversary Tour.

Mr. Cheung previously denied that they're parting ways, but with the recent interviews (Jan. 13, 2015), he admitted that his April-May show at HK Coliseum was already cancelled and all projects must be directed to Universal Music Hong Kong.  He said that there's a management team who handles artists at Universal and he need not sign a contract with them as he is also a part of Universal HK.  He's been receiving offers left and right after news broke about his manager.  He asked that all offers and projects be directed to Universal as he doesn't want to discuss talent fees directly.  He also divulged that he's going to have a year-end concert overseas. He won't be able to celebrate his 30th Anniversary in the showbiz industry, he said: "Alan Tam is already celebrating his 40th Anniversary, what is a 30th anniversary compared to it?" He also said that a 31st anniversary is longer than the 30th, so it doesn't matter when he celebrates it.

Mrs. Chan Sok Fan's reaction
Mrs. Chan's very agitated reply with all of these reports was: "It goes without saying that the one who knows everything became the one who doesn't know everything, these things have no basis and are all very much twisted. There is no need for a third person to answer with regards to all of the collaborations Jacky and I had in the past.  Jacky Cheung has the freedom to do whatever he wants during his past, the current and even the future.  He can appoint anyone or any company to do his work, I sincerely hope he'll be even more successful with his career. All the best for him." (Actually, the report thought the last two lines were filled with sarcasm)

 Original text:
"她表示“所谓知情者实在全不知情，毫无根据 歪曲事实。我与张学友之间以往的合作关系，无需要第三者来作答。张学友过往 现在 将来一直都可自由及按个人意愿。交给他指定的任何人或单位处理他的工作，我真诚祝福张学友事业更上一层楼 开心幸福."

I wish they could still settle each other's differences but I guess there's a reason why he finally stopped collaborating with Mrs. Chan.  It's a shame that after 20 years of working together, they still have to part ways.  It's quite sad and I hope the new handler of Mr. Cheung can take care of him better.  Hoping to watch him again this year!

Jacky Cheung 1/2 Century Tour - Taipei stop

Leaving for Taiwan with sore eyes was just so inconvenient.  I had to pretend I'm busy whilst passing immigration. Yes, I had to do all the faking until I reach pass the Taiwan immigration.  We arrived at our hotel half past 2:00 a.m. Had the privilege to pass by 7-11 and hoard some bento there 'coz we were starving after the long flight. Well... yeah it's long... 2 hours. xD

3 Itchy Feet embark on a journey to Taiwan, our first ever together, my 3rd and their 1st after 15 years. Yes, it was that long time ago.  When things were given to us for free... even pocket money. *lol*


On our first day, our first stop was here:

Had to come over for some fangirl sight-seeing.  This is an Art Center, the place is filled with ruins and very cozy place to stroll.  Here, we can see Deja Vu Restaurant ( THe resto that Liu Qian, Will Liu and Jay Chou owned) and A place for Tea (一間茶屋), Fang Wen Shan's own Teahouse.

We stopped by at A place for Tea first then we had a reservation for Deja Vu at around 12 noon.  Unfortunately, since we're here to see Mr. Cheung, we had to meet a friend/fan around 1:30 and so we decided to postpone the Deja Vu reservation to 5:00pm.  Mr. Cheung stays at a Hotel where we stayed in as well, knowing he's about to go to the Taipei Arena, we had to go back to the Hotel and wait for him in the Lobby.  The Philippine delegates must report to their "老大" (Boss). haha!  Since the inconvenience in Taiwan is that there's no Yellow Gate where you can report to duty daily, we had to wait at the Hotel lobby for him to see us and say: "Present" through eye contact. *lol*

We waited at the hotel lobby for an hour or so, since we had to meet a friend/fan at Taipei Arena, we had to leave at once and so we were not able to see Mr. Cheung at the lobby.  

To cut the story short, our route for that day was:

East Dragon Hotel -> Hua Shan Creative Park -> Mr. Cheung's Hotel -> Taipei Arena -> Taipei Main Station (Nova Mall) -> Hua Shan Creative Park (Deja Vu) -> East Dragon Hotel (Pick up luggage) -> Mr. Cheung's Hotel (Check in) -> Taipei Arena (Watch Concert) -> Back to hotel 

After meeting our friend, we went to Nova Mall and bought this: 

Then we had to rush to Deja Vu Restaurant and have early dinner at 4:30pm! Food was great but expensive.  I missed their Anchovy pasta, it was sensational!

After checking in and freshening up a bit, we rushed to Taipei Arena and proceed to Row 11. Our first night, good seats, good companion, good show!

It was a great show. With the rock song on top of my head, we really had a blast!

After the show we had to rush back to the hotel and wait for Mr. Cheung at the lobby.  It was a mob in the making! Some tourists from China coincidentally just arrived (2 tour buses) and they knew of Mr. Cheung's arrival.  In the end? The fans were not able to take a good look at him 'coz China people hoarded him and were mobbing him like crazy.  Purpose? Just to have a click on their cellphone and brag their close encounter with the God of songs in Taiwan.  They were always the reason why we can't see Mr. Cheung in a decent, proper and reserved manner.  We were so frustrated that night.  Luckily, one of my cousins was able to make eye contact with him as he nodded in assurance that he saw her.  He shifted a bit and by the looks of it as my cousin narrated, he's looking for other familiar faces. 

Anyhow, as the crowd got thinner, we went outside ready to grab some dinner at 12:00am. While outside, we met this bellboy who was a Filipino. Kabayan! He lives in Tondo but has already been in Taiwan for 2 years.  We kept chatting for an hour or so until we finally decided to go to a convenient store to hoard food again for supper. :)

The next day, we had to go to the boring Taipei 101 and ate at their Food Court.  Wasn't a big fan of Taipei 101, I swore I won't go there again and I won't spend another NT to get to the top floor. Puh-lease...

Our 2nd night, and of course our last night in Taipei and the last night of the 1/2 Century Concert as well.  We had to leave early and not finish the concert 'coz we had to travel to Taoyuan Airport for an hour or so. We were right at the side in front of the bridge of the stage.  It was a listening kind of place, can't see any of the people on stage but what the heck, I've watched for like 6 times and it won't hurt just to listen to the songs.  Besides, my eyes were hurting so much I had to force it open all the while since morning.  I was really pathetic.

While singing the Encore songs, Jacky Cheung sang 情書 right at that bridge, we were of course, star strucked.  We sing without knowing the words, it was so surreal. He was totally in front of us! This was a dream come true.  Though we had close encounters with him before, this was by far a first time.  We wanted to sing with him, thus during the concert, we were hoping to get front seats so we could sing as he sings and he could see us sing!  The feeling would be different, it would have been so COOL.

So, when he sang 二分之一的幸福 we were already climbing the stairs, exiting with heavy hearts as we leave our good seats.  While taking a break in the loo, I was able to listen through halfway of the song, it was my first time to hear that song since I never listened to all his albums.  It stayed with me for hours. :(

Before we left, we had the chance to pass by the section where flowers were given by artists who admire Mr. Cheung, one of the admirers of course, was our very own Jay Chou.  Can't help but take pictures with the flower! xD 

An hour drive to Taoyuan Airport, we discussed things we surely have missed when we left the Arena.  We thought we were a bit hasty in giving ourselves an ultimatum to leave that early.  Arriving the airport, we noticed the empty lobby with only us checking in, we thought we really blew it.  We could've stayed for a few more minutes :(  As we pass by immigration, baggage check-up, we came across another surprise... Mr. Fang Wen Shan's poem on our way to the boarding gate!

The boarding gate is filled with people, waiting for flight 5J310 to take them back home to Manila.  As we found our place and settled on emptier seats, we felt the drowsiness and exhaustion downing upon us as we rest for a while.  Not long, everybody were assisted to board and we sat on our respective seats, reminiscing with drowsiness, our 2-day marathon trip to TAIPEI.

We shall return... for more. 

2 Weeks more!

Yes, two more weeks then I''m heading to Taipei.

It's a chance again to watch Mr. Jacky Cheung live!
We're watching for two nights.
Got our visa approved
Some ITs ready
The tickets already at Shangri-la Taipei
And... ourselves.

We'll be off by 19th.

Ja! Wait for our news!

Mr. Andrew Tuason aka 杜自持-- A Kababayan Encounter

When I was a kid, I used to listen to OPM. One bright November 1, circa 1990 I guess, my cousins gave me a mixed tape. If I remembered it correctly:
SIDE A:
1. 對你愛不完 (Can't Stop Loving you)- Aaron Kwok
2. Forgot the title - Alan Tam
3. 來生緣　(Fate after this life)- Andy Lau
4. 每天愛你多一些(Love you more everyday)- Jacky Cheung
5. 不需要愛情 (Don't need any love)- Andy Lau
6. I Love Your Smile - Sandy Lam *I think*
7. 今夜你會不會來 (Will you be around tonight?)- Leon Lai
8. Forgot the title- Alan Tam
9.愛不完　(Continuous Love)- Andy Lau
10. Forgot the title- Alan Tam

SIDE B:
1.　我來自北京(I was born in Beijing)- Leon Lai
2. 再吻我吧 (Kiss Me Again)- Andy Lau
3. So Sad - Grasshopper／Sandy Lam
4. forgot
5. forgot
6. forgot
7.　獻給你 (Especially For You)- Andy Lau
8. 特別的愛給特別的你 (A Special Love for a Special You)- Leon Lai (Cantonese)
9. Sayonara Oh- Leon Lai
10. 我是不是該安靜的走開 (Am I just going to silently leave)- Aaron Kwok

These songs did a major overhaul to my ears. I stopped listening to English pop music, and literally closed the doors to all radio stations in Manila. I was a fake G.I. back then. I fail my Chinese tests but I was good at memorizing songs... Not Mandarin but CANTONESE.

I was a major Andy Lau Fan. I have a room about 50sqm floor area which I share with my other 3 siblings. The walls are covered with practically Andy Lau's face. If the Voltron Venetian Blinds were capable of being changed, it would've been an Andy Lau face you'll see up there. XD

Through the years, I spent my free time making Scrapbooks, memorizing songs and trying to decipher the meanings of it. I can't read some of the words, and most pathetic of all, I can't read the name 杜自持．　I don't know why this name always caught my attention. Aside from Alex Dela Cruz which sounds oh so PINOY, 杜自持 was another name I can only pronounce from the 'du and the zi'... I never researched if the last word was a "chi" or a "te". In my mind, it was a 'te'. Whenever I listen to the songs, I never took notice at the composers at first. But then, as years passed by, I started to criticize Andy Lau's songs thus, I started flipping for composers. I noticed I get more feel in songs which were arranged by the name 杜自持. The name I cannot pronounce. He was the only arranger I knew back then, aside from 周治平 who also ranked #2 in composing songs for Andy Lau.

I also searched for Andrew's compositions and arrangements and was surprised that he arranged most of the songs in Andy Lau's 愛的空間 (A room for Love) album! Surprisingly, I downloaded this album a few months ago and started listening to it again--I stopped some 15 years ago. What's more disturbing was that I put 4-5 songs on repeat and those 4-5 songs happen to be the songs 杜自持 composed!!! I was clueless that he was the one who composed it until I searched for his compositions today.

These are the songs from 愛的空間
劉德華﹕情是那麼笨 (How stupid is love)
劉德華﹕愛在同一天空下 (Love under the same Sky)
劉德華﹕忘我精神 (Forgot my mood)
劉德華﹕妳震撼我的心靈 (You've captured my Soul)

Years passed and I entered College almost leaving Cantopop behind as I opened myself to a brand new addiction-- Chinese Movies. After a short while, I grew tired of collecting them so I stopped entirely. I was really in a state of calmness and concentrated on work.

Came 2003 'til present, I was then shifted to another fandom. Yes. F4. Knew some friends and in 2005, I learned how to travel on my own. After not traveling for 15 years due to monetary reason, Our first travel experience came out quite fruitful. This was when "Snow Wolf Lake" did a remake in Mandarin and at the same time, Jay Chou was going to have a concert 2 days after "Snow Wolf Lake". It was hitting two birds in one stone and the rest was History.

After gaining too much experience in Fangirling, I learned how to appreciate the people behind a production. It's not only the artist we should appreciate but also the people around him. For if not for them, the artist wouldn't be able to perform at his/her best.

Years of listening and watching Chinese movies gave me the opportunity to find better job opportunities. I now know almost every single Chinese word... and the best part of it, I know now how 杜自持 is pronounced. ^^

While in weibo, I came across Andrew's weibo. He was reposting a pic of him playing the piano during Jacky Cheung's 1/2 Century World Tour's last night.

Here's our conversation:



I was happy, though maybe he was just kidding along with me, I appreciate his reply.